Man City boss Pep Guardiola hails departing Kevin De Bruyne after Crystal Palace rout
Pep Guardiola has admitted that no player can replicate the “incredible” Kevin De Bruyne after the departing Manchester City midfielder starred in the 5-2 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday.
De Bruyne, who confirmed he is leaving the club earlier in April, scored a free-kick that started City’s fightback from two goals down and — driving his team forward throughout — provided an assist for Mateo Kovacic later in the game.
“The gratitude I have for him is huge,” City boss Guardiola said.
“De Bruyne is incredible and I know that what he can deliver. I am happy because he is helping us. With the ball he was so, so clever, and then the goals, and the assists. He helped us a lot to win the game.”
De Bruyne, 33, has scored 71 goals and notched 121 assists over 10 seasons with City — and Guardiola knows it will be tough to replace his talisman.
One youngster, James McAtee, made his mark on Saturday with a goal but the Spanish coach believes it is too early to put too much pressure on his shoulders.
“No one can do what Kevin has done,” Guardiola added. “I don’t want to put one second of pressure on Macca [McAtee], he has played not many minutes but I know the quality that he has in the final third. He scored one goal, he could have scored four.”
De Bruyne hasn’t yet made a decision on his next move but feels he still has plenty left in the tank.
“It’s been a hard year,” the Belgium international told TNT Sports. “Having a hernia wasn’t fun but now I would say I’m basically pain free for the last six weeks.
“Playing with pain was hard but now I feel free. I’m able to do a lot of training sessions and I feel I can do a good job.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen but I want to play on so we’ll see where I can end up.”
City are fourth in the Premier League after Saturday’s rout while Palace lie 11th. Both sides are in the FA Cup semifinals.
